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It’s a tomato-girl summer, and we’re just living in it. For years, summer trends have been dominated by familiar foods with aesthetic appeal and even better PR. Take, for example, lemons, which have appeared on many a citrus-themed sundress. Then cherries had their moment in the sun, with Sydney Sweeney releasing a viral cherry bikini as part of her Frankies Bikinis collection. This year, however, the tides are turning in a very savory direction, and social media is eating it up.
Meet the “tomato girl.” An admittedly unappetizing name for what is ultimately just an eccentric take on summer’s most overlooked fruit. The trend champions a true underdog . . . perhaps not the first item we would’ve foreseen overtaking the farmer’s-market-to-fashion pipeline, but our edible it-girl nonetheless.
In essence, the “tomato girl” aesthetic revolves around high-quality basics, romantic details inspired by the Mediterranean, and of course, a distinct red, white, and green color palette. (Think: fragrant pasta sauce on the Amalfi coast, or a picnic on a particularly sunny day.) As one beauty creator on TikTok explained, her “tomato girl” look was inspired by “a summer in Italy basking in the sun or tending home grown vegetables in colorful floral dresses.”
But while the tomato girls are already coming in hot this summer, not everyone is entirely on board. “Unless it’s sweaty girl or sweaty mom, I don’t want to hear it — I don’t want to hear about your basket of tomatoes,” another TikTok user said (and it is, indeed, a very sweaty summer). Still, the undeniable originality at the core of the “tomato girl” aesthetic might just make it the best summer trend yet.
Shop some of our favorite “tomato girl” pieces ahead, and see if we can convince you to give tomatoes the sartorial chance they deserve.
